Vivid Creations with Dave and Liz: June 2018

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Q&A Week 8

42 Aren't the andurunans actually curious about what lays beyond their borders? What do they know about the world outside and are there

Curiosity abounds. There's a lot of official information taught in schools: Some bland maps and general statements that a barren wilderness devoid of resources is all that could be reasonably expected. It's technically illegal to organize and launch private expeditions that go beyond Anduruna-inhabited territory. But despite the blandishments and prohibitions, some citizens occasionally try their hand at exploration. Most don't return- their disappearance is attributed to the infamous 'bandits.' Those that do straggle back have tales of harsh wilderness with no plumbing, and occasionally harrowing tales of escaping from hostile 'bandits.' Some citizens are in touch with black market smuggler 'bandits' from beyond Anduruna, and the stories they hear seem to confirm this. The smugglers don't dare venture beyond certain territories alone, or they fear being abducted or vanishing themselves.

32 Were Bobby and Vi never a thing when you made V1? When did you decide to add them to the story, and why? Did Mace not have enough

Volume 1 was the genesis of the graphic novel storyline- but it would have been a mistake to introduce every character in the entire series in the first book. Gotta leave some room to explore and meet new people. E ) There are many approaches to writing stories- though I tend to plan and outline extensively, I also stay loose with some details and specifics, so that the narrative can breathe and have the flexibility to cast itself in the truest possible form. We were always going to need Troika characters and people who knew Mace in his youth- and the details were solidified as we moved forward into Prelude and subsequent Volumes. More discoveries remain ahead of us.

29 What is prison like in anduruna? And where is it?

Prisons are in the Towers. District towers house local prison facilities, and the maximum security penitentiary is in the Sabbaton Towers. Prison construction predates banishment policies, so they were built to contain power users- as such, they're lodged underground, in the subterranean levels of these towers. In Volume 4, the tourists took a public lift that bypasses the prison levels entirely; But there's a secured area with heavily guarded lifts and stairwells which control the movement of supplies and personnel on the detention levels.

23 Are there any other holidays besides the Harvest Festival and All Spirits Eve?

Definitely! We haven't stopped to create a comprehensive list, but there's a variety of holidays. One additional day we made up is called 'Seeker's Day,' which involves hunting ryuu-neko eggs. It's like a combination of Valentine's Day and Easter.

22 The Indigo’s speak Spanish, are there Any other bilingual dreamkeepers. (Russians would be pretty cool)

Yep! Technically they don't speak full Spanish- long ago, the districts had different languages. But after centuries of mixing around, most of them went extinct. What remains are district dialects that include a scattering of remnant words and phrases. Depending on which part of the district, the dialects can be fairly heavy or almost impossible to detect.

Friday, June 22, 2018

BGC: APAMA

The Undiscovered Animal- opinions split in the latest from BGC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKhNi_zNYgs

Caption Contest Winners!

Thank you to everyone who created entries! It was fun reading them: https://dreamkeepers-fans.deviantart.com/gallery/66540267/2018-Summer-Caption-Contest

We narrowed it down to ten finalists, and the Discord moderator team selected the grand prize winner. Winners, send us an e-mail! (Dreamkeeperscomic(at)gmail.com)

We need your mailing info- every finalist receives a button pack, and the grand prize winner receives the original pencil lineart for the page displayed.

Grand Prize Winner:

https://dreamkeepers-fans.deviantart.com/art/Dreamkeepers-Caption-Contest-748280617

Finalists:

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Q&A Week 7

49 What usually happens to the dreamkeepers banished from Anduruna?

Details are Plot Vaulty, but many banished dreamkeepers simply vanish.  It is speculated that they are seized and murdered by the notorious 'bandits.'   There's a 'bandit' settlement to the north, consisting of expatriated Anduruna merchants.  Many banished dreamkeepers try to reach that city, because contrary to the media accounts, black market trade with this settlement would seem to indicate that it's more of a viable settlement than some sort of cutthroat paradise.   

Some Dreamkeepers try to strike out into the wilderness and form their own encampments, which have varying success.  Encampments near Anduruna are generally reliant on  runners doing trade within the city for their food supplies, and any that get too large break up due to logistical problems.  

39 Is the power halo at all tangible? Does it output any heat?

Halos can feel different based on the power being channeled- but generally they feel cool and a bit tingly, like dipping into a pool of light.  

35 So how would the others react to Mace being the best stripper around.

If Mace were endowed with masterful stripping skills (which is true only in his wildest imaginings) Bast would probably perform a nuclear facepalm and blow himself to smithereens.  Lilith would be stuck between shock and curiosity, and Namah would likely burst out laughing.   But Whip would simply look down on the efforts of an aspiring amateur.  

30 Since June is gay pride month, are there any LGBTQ characters in dreamkeepers

Nobody in the Dreamkeepers series is gay for the reason of June being gay pride month.  But some of the characters in the series are gay.   

25 How was the name DreamKeepers conceived? Any story behind it?

The original card game / fantasy world David developed pre-college was titled "Realm," but that seemed a bit generic.   During college a roommate kept having horrible nightmares, and mused that it sure would be nice if there was something to keep his dreams safe.   This triggered research into dream lore, including Mesopotamian legends about literal dream guardians.  If these guardians abandoned their human host, the person would go insane.   This led to the name brainstorm of "Dreamkeepers," and the grains of the concept began to develop from there.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

June News

Milestone achieved!

Huge thanks to the Patreon backers for another record month- and welcome to all our new backers!
These elite readers are bestowing weekly Prelude for everyone during the month of June.

Another unlocked feature of 'Full Time' is a Chat 'n Sketch this month- scheduled for June 23rd, 3pm EST on our Picarto channel.

Also this month, our final Skirmish boxed-game prototype arrived. And, WOW! It's like opening a pile of treasure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RaVm4Cy84M

Just waiting on freighting, and we'll start delivering to backers of the campaign. After that's done, we'll announce when games are available for public purchase.

And speaking of games- Faction War is rumbling again. The test game this spring gave me a lot to chew on, and I finally got around to overhauling the mechanics. Now there will be ryuu-nekos that boost Awareness, Manekales for mounted riding, and more.

Needs a bit more testing, but we're stepping closer to a public release for the first official Dreamkeepers roleplay system.

Also nailing some commissions this month, keeping up with weekly Prelude and Volume 5 updates, Boneitis and me may be on the Thoughtcops podcast soon, and we're prepping for Anthrocon in July.

Thanks for enjoying the award-winning Undisputed Gateway Furry Saga, looking forward to bringin' you more.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Skirmish Box Sample

BGC: Daytripper

Die once, shame on you. Die twice, shame on me. Die three times, and you might be reading Daytripper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLyMlUtQFbs

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Q&A Week 6

37 What is Andurana's internet like? Heavily censored?
Yes and no. There's a set of whitelisted pages that are licensed by the CCA to disseminate information and content. The sites of major newscasters and mainstream entertainment content. Being licensed & whitelisted means complying with an extensive (and ever-changing) list of regulations and rules. It effectively gives the government discretionary control over who says what, how, and why. But because of the decentralized nature of their internet- emanating naturally from any data system plugged into living flo-wood- anyone can put anything out there, and it's possible to jump out of the whitelisted system to view all the unregulated content. Technically it's illegal to post unlicensed content, but virtually everyone is doing it all the time for a huge variety of reasons. It turns into another one of those legal systems where everyone is breaking the law, giving enforcement officers the ability to use it pretextually for targeting anyone they have a particular interest in.

36 The importance of twins seems to be a recurring theme, do dreamkeepers that have a twin commonly share their power or have it linked (Like with the Indigos.)
Twins can have shared or linked powers, but I'd say that even with twins it's unusual. Dreamkeepers, even those with close siblings, typically have a power that's more keyed in to them as individuals. But linked, shared, or otherwise correlated powers can sometimes occur with twins- or even with other familial relations, like father / son, mother / daughter. But the more distant the relation, the more unlikely it is to have their powers entangled in any manner.

33 Do the CCA have any other types of combat soldier besides the Shock Troopers or at least different sets or armor for different situations
Now that it's too late, yes. Originally they had only standard-issue armor: Designed for urban combat, raids, and law enforcement, and also so ranks could lock into a testudo formation. It's designed for maximum protection during chaotic short-range urban operations. During the Toll Wars, they were suddenly deployed into the wild north, and engaging in combat with 'bandits' among the dunes. The radically different terrain rendered their typical tactics and armor woefully inadequate. Back in Anduruna, they struggled to innovate a new armor and movement system for the shock troopers that would facilitate their longer-range, lighter, faster needs. Just as the Toll Wars were concluding the new shock trooper light desert armor system was completed and produced. There is now no purpose for it, but several thousand sets of desert light-armor stand in storage, ready to be used in the unlikely event of another bandit war.
Within Anduruna they use their standard-issue armor. However, since district police are technically not permitted lethal weapons, shock troopers often have to work with local cops on drug raids and other law enforcement activity that involves zero combat. In such situations, often shock troopers will ditch the bulkier armor plates and other bits of encumbering gear. This is strictly against regulations, but helps them do their tasks more effectively. If a shock trooper is injured on a call, and wasn't wearing their full gear, it will be hell for their commanding officer. Different districts and units are more or less strict about policing gear usage during non-combat jobs.

31 How long will Prelude be?
Short answer: I dunno.
Longer answer: We're bridging the gap to Volume 1, and we have a handful of story arcs and events plotted out to hit in Prelude. We also like to let Prelude breathe a little more, and get playful when something fun presents itself. I'd estimate, very very roughly, that we're maybe 1/4 through Prelude. We have Lilith and Namah developmenets- for instance, how they come to know their fugitive uncle- Mace and Whip developments, that explain Bobby, Vi, Paige, and Randy, and also plot to take Vanth and Bast from their origin here to their situation in Volume 4. With hopefully a lot of fun along the way.

29 Why was everyone so emotionally distant to Mace in volume 4?
They were distracted with spelunking and Nightmare attacks- those have a way of distracting the mind. Plus, none of them know Mace terribly well yet, and he's socially not the smoothest fella. He may be the main character, but he's got his work cut out for him in regard to the rest of the cast.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Caption Contest!

We're using a fresh never-before-seen Volume 5 page. What are Nainso and Tia actually saying?

https://dreamkeepers.deviantart.com/art/Caption-Contest-2018-Image-748201267

Patreon backers will find out later. For now, YOU are in command.

Fill the word balloons with any dialogue you like, and submit the image here:

https://dreamkeepers-fans.deviantart.com/gallery/66540267/2018-Summer-Caption-Contest

Deadline is Monday, June 18th at noon EST. You can submit as many entries as you like.

Liz & I will choose ten finalists, probably based on what makes us laugh the hardest- and then the DK Moderator team will vote on the finalists until one wins.

(DK Moderators may enter the contest, but cannot vote for their own entry.)

All ten finalists win a Dreamkeepers button pack. FINALLY.

The Ultimate Master of Funny, the Caption Contest winner will also score the original pencil lineart that goes with this page.

As for rules: If you're allowed to post it on Deviantart, go nuts! Put your caption text right in the image- it's more fun to read that way.

Thanks to the backers for hitting the Production Milestone and unlocking this contest. Have fun, and enjoy everyone's entries.